Monolithic track construction



Patented Apr. 6, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Frank H. Lehecka, EastOrange, N. J and Douglas P. Steward, Westmont Borough, Pa.

Application January 4, 1935, Serial No. 436

4 Claims.

This invention relates to monolithic track construction and aims toprovide rail supporting means incorporated in a road bed formed in situ,of concrete, asphalt, or similar material adapted to be poured and toform a homogeneous structure. The specific features of improvement willbe apparent from the following specification, the accompanying drawingand the appended claims.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a sectional perspective illustrating the trackstructure embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectionalview showing one rail of the track, one chair and related parts; Fig. 3is a reduced scale perspective view showing the chair.

Referring in detail to the drawing, It may be regarded as a body ofeither concrete cast in situ, or a substantially homogeneous body ofasphalt or the like. Embedded in this body are the track rails 12-!2,which in the embodiment illustrated are of the type frequently used instreet railway work having a head portion l4 and a fiangeway it.However, T-rails or other conventional types may be employed. The railbase I8 is accommodated in the centrally depressed portion of the railchair, indicated as a whole at C.

The chair is formed of bar stock such as rolled steel. This stock isbent or forged to a shape substantially corresponding to that shown inFig. 2. This configuration of the chair provides shoulders 2222 whichare effective to resist lateral movement of the rail. In a plane abovethe depressed portion, there are clip bearing surfaces 2424. Downwardlyand outwardly extending therefrom, there are supporting legs 26 whichterminate in curved feet 28. These feet are adapted to rest on blocks orany suitable form of support or falsework 30 during the time of pouringor casting the monolithic road bed.

Hold down clips 32 have downwardly bent portions 34 which fulcrum on thesurfaces 24 and the ends 36 thereof are forcibly clamped to the railbase by means of nuts 38 threaded on the hold down bolts 40. The heads40 of the holding bolts are prevented from turning because of the closeproximity to the shoulder portions 22 of the chair.

The track gauge is maintained by spacing members 42 which are riveted orotherwise secured, as indicated at 44 to the legs 26 of the chair.

Interposed between the depressed bearing portion of the chair and theunderside of the rail base, we provide a body 46 of material which isrelatively yieldable as compared with the rigidity of the concrete orcementitious monolithic road.

bed. This cushioning material may be of asphalt or other readily cast ormolded substance. The incorporation of such cushioning material isadvantageous because upon the setting of the concrete or otherrelatively rigid foundation certain 5 small clearance between theportions of the rail body occur. And after a time the wear on the bodyallows for a limited amount of relative play between the rail and theconcrete base. And the interposition of the yieldable material betweenthe concrete portion and the rail chair serves as an effective cushionand also has a tendency to serve somewhat as a noise deadener.

While we have described quite precisely the specific details of theembodiment of the invention herein illustrated, it is to be understoodthat the drawing and detailed disclosure are to be interpreted in anillustrative rather than a limiting sense and the claims are intended tocover the specific points of improvement hereinafter defined and variousequivalents thereof.

What we claim is:-

1. A monolithic track structure comprising a cast foundation formed insitu, a rail and rail chair embedded therein, said chair being of bar 2stock of uniform thickness throughout and having a central depressedportion of a width corresponding to the base width of the rail, clipbearing surfaces in a plane thereabove, rail clips and holding meanscoacting with said bearing sur- 30 faces and downwardly divergingsupporting legs depending from said bearing surfaces.

2. A monolithic track structure comprising a rail chair embedded in abody of concrete, said chair consisting of a single continuous bar of 35uniform rectangular cross sectional area throughout its length andhaving a central depressed rail seat, upwardly bent shoulder portions atthe opposite extremities of said seat for engagement with the edges ofthe rail base, clip bearing por- 40 tions extending outwardly from saidshoulders and supporting legs extending downwardly from the outerextremities of the clip bearing portions, hold down clips fulcrumed onthe clip bearing portions, bolts with integral heads below said clipbearing portions and prevented from turning by said shoulder portionsand having shanks extending through the clip bearing portions and saidclips and carrying nuts engaging the clips.

3. A monolithic track structure comprising a rail and a rail chairembedded in the body of concrete formed in situ, said rail chairconsisting solely of a single metal bar of uniform thickness throughout,bent to form a depressed central portion to suit the width of the railbase, clip instrumentalities as defined in claim 3 and a separatespacing bar extending transversely from one chair to the other andsecured to the opposed chair legs at its ends having angularly bentportions.

FRANK H. LEHECKA. DOUGLAS P. STEWARD.

